Three New Mexico Counties See Shigellosis

“Photo” by geralt is licensed under CC0. The New Mexico Department of Health just reported Tuesday that counties Lea, Chaves, and Eddy have all seen an outbreak of bacterial disease shigellosis. Shigellosis is a diarrheal disease that causes about 500,000 cases of diarrhea annually. Other symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, cramps and toxemia. Oftentimes, diarrhea will contain blood or mucus. Since May of this year, NMDOH has seen 140 confirmed and probable cases of shigellosis, often among school-aged children, but officials believe the disease may be affecting a wider community. Shigellosis is extremely contagious and infected persons can have bacteria in their stool for up to a month after the diarrhea has subsided. It can be spread by people not washing their hands well after using the bathroom, caretakers changing an infant’s diaper and not taking care to wash their hands properly, swallowing recreational water (for example from a pool) that has been contaminated, or exposure to feces through sexual contact. NMDOH is urging anyone who is experiencing symptoms of shigellosis to get tested. For more information about the shigellosis outbreak in New Mexico, please visit the New Mexico Department of Health’s website. For more general information about shigellosis, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. Follow NN/LM SCR on Twitter and like us on Facebook.  
Source: Network News - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: New Mexico Public Health Source Type: news